Crusher

ABSTRACT

An apparatus comprising a housing, a conduit through which materials to be treated are fed into said housing, a rotary hammer installed within said housing, a screen for sorting out the crushed material and a conduit through which the uncrushed material is withdrawn from the housing. The materials to be treated fed into the housing are withdrawn from the housing through the screen or conduit as the rotation of the hammer proceeds and before they make one complete revolution within the housing.

United States Patent Okada et al. Oct. 7, 1975 [54] CRUSHER Rl3,820 10/1914 Kinsey .4 241/186 R [75] Inventors: Nobuhiko Okada, Nara; Teruaki FOREIGN PATENTS OR P T O S suzuk" Kadoma both of Japan 198,155 11/1906 Germany 241/73 [73] Assignees: Osaka Gas Kabushiki Kaisha;

Kabushiki Kaisha Hosokawa Funtai Primary Examinei'R0y Lake Kogaku Kenkyusho, both of Osaka, Assistant ExaminerE. F. Desmond Japan Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edwin E. Greigg [22] Filed: Oct. 9, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 404,755 [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus comprising a housing, a conduit through 52 U.S. c1 241/73; 241/186 A which i to be ."f f t f lg Z 51 int. (:1. B02C 13/09; 1302c 13/286 a S 2 3 [58] Field of Search 24l/DlG. 31, 52, 69, 73, z l E "L 6 3" a 9 3' 24l/74, 79 83 84,186 R186 A, 1862 wt t roug w 10 e uncrus e matena 1s wit drawn from the housmg. The materials to be treated fed into the housing are withdrawn from the housing [56] References Clted through the screen or conduit as the rotation of the UNITED STATES PATENTS hammer proceeds and before they make one complete 1,880,907 10/1932 DUCT! 241/52 X revolution within the housing 2,474,314 6/l949 Koehne 241/74 X 3,549,093 l2/l970 Pallmann 241/186 R X 14 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures I4 8 IO 9 1 4 6 !4 l F' fi I fi U.S. Patent Oct. 7,1975

CRUSHER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatusfor percussively crushing a mixture of a first material which is capable of being crushed and a second material which is much more difficult to percussively crush.

An example of material that is difficult to be disposed of is a rubber tire. Thus, the present invention teaches that in disposing of an old rubber tire, it is first chopped into pieces of a suitable size and then subjected to a freezing process by liquified nitrogen or the like to render the pieces more readily crushable, so that the rubber material can be separated and recovered from the fibrous material which is embedded in the rubber tire for reinforcement when the tire is constructed.

The presence of such difficulty percussively crushable material in an object to be crushed results in said material staying in the crusher chamber for a long time, which, in turn, results in a decrease in the efficiency and processability of the crusher, an increase in the operative load due to the fact that some of the fibers become entwined around the crushing means, resulting in much quicker wear of the crushing members, and other problems. Particularly in the case where a material such as a rubber tire which can be rendered percussively crushable by being frozen is made an object, if such material stays in the crusher chamber for too long a period of time, the temperature of the material rises quickly due to frictional heat. As a result, the crushing operation becomes more difficult. Eventually, not only does the material which is difficult to crush stay in the crusher chamber too long, but also it adheres to the inner Wall of the crusher chamber, even destroying the apparatus.

As a means to solve said problems, there has been proposed or employed an apparatus of the type in which in crushing said mixture fed into the crusher chamber by rotary hammers, the mixture is separated into crushed and uncrushed materials before the mixture makes one complete revolution within the crusher chamber, both materials being then withdrawn from the crusher chamber.

In such type, however, as in the common crusher, a mixture is fed into the crusher chamber at the top thereof and crushed and uncrushed materials are separated from each other by a screen located below the crusher chamber, the uncrushed material being kicked upwardly against a collision plate, which repels it, the uncrushed material being finally withdrawn from the crusher chamber. With such arrangement, however, the mixture fed into the crusher chamber, after being given the first bloat by the rotary hammer, reaches as far as the screen with a less number of percussions imparted thereto since said blow and the gravity on the mixture are both directed downwardly. Further, once the mixture passes over the screen, it never returns to the screen but is withdrawn from the crusher chamber, thus inevitably curtailing the decrease of the crusher efficiency. Further, since the uncrushed material, after being kicked upwardly, is repelled by the collision plate and withdrawn from the crusher chamber, there arises another problem that a material, e.g. a fibrous material, which is difficult to crush and light in weight cannot be readily repelled upon collision and hence it is entrained in the air currents produced by the rotation of the hammer, thus fails to be reliably withdrawn from the crusher chamber.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for percussively crushing materials to be treated containing a material that is difficult to crush, comprising a housing, a plurality of hammer members located within said housing, said hammer members being adapted to be rotated around a substantially horizontal axis and to impart percussive forces to said mixture by the rotation thereof, drive means for rotating said hammer members, means for feeding said materials into said housing, first conduit means whereby of said materials to be treated, the one crushed by the hammer members is withdrawn from the housing, second means for withdrawing said difficultly crushable material from the housing, a liner member extending substantially along the path of rotation of the tips of the hammer members, said liner member having an uneven surface substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of said hammer members and opposed to said path of rotation, means defining openings communicating with the inlet of said first conduit means, said openings being adapted to permit the passage of only said crushed material therethrough, the outlet of said feeding means and the inlet of said second conduit means being located at a position corresponding to the lower end of said path of rotation, the inlet of said second conduit means being substantially adjacent to the rear side of the outlet of said feeding means as viewed in the direction of rotation of said hammber members, said liner member being opposed to substantially all said path of rotation except for the area where the inlet of said second conduit means and the means defining said openings are opposed to said path of rotation.

Thus, in an apparatus according to the present invention, since the outlet of the feeding means is located at a position corresponding to the lower end of the path of rotation of the crushing means, it is necessary that the materials to be treated be lifted by the rotating crushing means against the force of gravity. Therefore, the materials to be treated are subjected to blows from the crushing means many times before the difficultly crushable material reaches the second conduit means. Further, the chance of imparting crush actions to a difficultly crushable material is maximum for an apparatus of the type in which the inlet of the second conduit means for withdrawal of difficultly crushable material is substantially adjacent to the rear side of the outlet of the feeding means as viewed in the direction of rotation of the crushing means and all the materials to be treated are withdrawn from the housing before they make one complete revolution around the axis of rotation of the crushing means. Further, since the liner member cooperating with the crushing means to impart percussive force .to the materials to be treated extends over as great a range as possible, that is, circumferentially over all the path of rotation of the crushing means excepted for the area where the inlet of the second conduit means and the means defining the openings are located, it follows that the materials to be treated are subjected to blows many times.

Thus, in spite of the fact that the present crusher is of the type having a tendency for even a crushable material to be treated as a difficultly crushable material in that a difficultly crushable material is withdrawn from the housing before it makes one complete revolution around the axis of rotation of the crushing means, the above-mentioned three factors ,synergistically act to improve the efficiency of recovery of crushable material or the efficiency of separation of crushableand difficultlycrushable materials from each other.

Further, since the inlet of the second conduit means for withdrawal of difficultly crushablc material is located at. a position corresponding to the lower end of the path of rotation of the crushing means, the inlet of the second conduit means can be made to face in the direction in which the difficultly crushable material is discharged by the crushing means. This arrangement is effective to prevent a difticultly crushable material which is light in weight, e.g. fibrous material, from being engulfed in air currents incidental to the rotation of the crushing means, thereby further ensuring the achievement of the object of prohibiting the difficultly crushable material from staying in the housing for a very long time. 7

A principal object of the present invention is, in a crusher of the type prohibiting a diftieultly crushable material from staying in the crusher chamber for a very long time, to improve the crush efficiency and further ensure the withdrawal from the crusher of the material that is difficult to crush in a short time.

Other objects and advantages will become clear from the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a partly omitted and partly broken-away side view of a crusher;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section taken along the line lI-ll of FIG. I with some parts omitted; and

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section of the principal portion showing another embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the characters 1 and 2 designate base blocks or pedestals fixed to the ground. The base block 1 has upper surfaces 3 and 4 which are at different elevations. The upper surface 5 of the base block 2 lies on substantially the same level as the lower surface 4 of the base block 1. A clearance or space 6 is provided between the two base blocks 1 and 2 for discharge of material from the crusher housing.

A housing 7 is fixed on the base blocks 1 and 2 in such a mannerthat it bridges over the clearance 6 and rests on the two upper surfaces 4 and 5. A rotary shaft has a substantially horizontal axis of rotation andis supported in bearings 8 and 9 which are fixed on'the upper surface 3 of the base block 1. The rotary shaft 10 extends into the housing 7 and is loosely titted therein. A disk member 11 is located within the housing 7 and suitably mounted on the rotary shaft. 10. The disk member 11 has a plurality of hammer members 12 secured thereto and spaced equidistantly around the peripheral edge thereof. The rotary shaft 10 is oper'atively connected to an electric motor 13 by pulleys l4 and three transmission belts 15.,

The housing 7 is associated with a screw conveyor 16, which in turn is provided with a feed hopper 17, so that materials to be treated are first fed into said hopper and then introduced are into the housing by said screw conveyer. The outlet 18 of the screw conveyer 16 is. located in the lower portion of the lateral wall 19 of the housing 7, preferably vertically below the rotary shaft land at a position corresponding to the path of rotation of the tips of the. hammer'members. Also, it will be noted that the front wall of the housing is perforated adjacent to but spaced from one of the plural openings 25 and 26, respectively. The reference numeral 20 designates an electric motor for rotating the screw conveyerl and the reference numeral 21 designates a rigid member for supporting the screw conveyer said electric motor 20 and rigid member 21 7 being mounted on the base block2.

The peripheral wall or intermediate portion. 22 of the housing 7 issubstantially cylindrical and has a liner member 23 installed on the inner surface thereof. The liner member 23 lies substantially along the path of rotation of the tips of the hammer members 12 and has I corrugations provided on the surface thereof which are opposed to said path of rotation, said corrugations being parallel with the axis of rotation of the rotary shaft 10, or the axis of rotation of the hammer mem-' bers. Between the path of rotation of the tips of the,

hammer members 12 and the inner surface of the liner member 23, there is a clearance having a size adjusted to the size of materials to be treated and to the size of crushed particles.

In order that those materials which are difficult to crush material, that have not been crushed between the hammer members 12 and liner member 23 may be withdrawn from the housing 7, a pipe 24 is provided in the peripheral wall 22 of the housing 7 in such a manner that its outlet 25 is located substantially adjacent to the rear side of the outlet 18 of the screw conveyer 16 as viewed in the direction of rotation of the hammer members 12. Further, in order that a material, included among the materials to be treated fed into the housing 7, which has been crushed to a particle size equal to or smaller than the predetermined particle size may be withdrawn from the housing 7, a pipe 26 is provided in the peripheral wall 22 of the housing 7 in such a manner as to be substantially adjacent to the rear side of said pipe 24 as viewed in the direction of rotation of the hammer members 12. A screen or grill 29 having a plurality of openings 28 therein communicating with the inlet 27'of the 'pipe 26 is installed within the housing 7 in such a manner that it extends over'theentire inlet 27 of the pipe 26 and lies on substantially the same circumference as thatof the liner member 23. The size of the openings 28 are set at a necessary and sufficient value to separate the various crushed materials from each other.

The liner member 23 is opposedto substantially all I the path of rotation of the tips of the hammer members 12 except for the area where the inlet 25 of the pipe 24 and the screen 29 are opposed to said path of rotation.

Both pipes 24 and 26 are located in the clearance 6 7 the hopper 17, and into the housing in a substantially constant volume per unit time by the screw conveyer 16. The materials fed into the housing 7 through the outlet 18 of the screw conveyer 16 are moved upwardly along the liner member 23 and against the cutting ac tion. of the teeth provided thereon by the hammer members 12 with the hammer being driven by the electric motor 13. When the materials to be treated are moved by the rotary hammer members 12, in the first half of operation they are lifted against the action of gravity thereon. Therefore, as compared with a type in which materials treated are fed from above, the probability that a plurality of hammer members act upon a given piece of material to be treated during the time it moves from the feed position tothe discharge position is very high. Further, since the phase angle extending from the inlet 18 of the screw conveyer 16 to the inlet 25 of the pipe 24 is approximately 360, the length of the path of the crushing operation is maximum for a crusher of the type in which the materials to be treated are withdrawn before they make one complete revolution around the axis of rotation of the hammer members 12. By virtue of this fact, the probability of a given material to be treated colliding with many hammer members'is considerably increased. Further, since the liner member 23 is installed along substantially all length of the path of the crushing treatment except for the area where the screen 29 and pipe 24 are present, the number of times of a given material to be treated colliding with the liner member 23 can also be increased as greatly as possible. After all, the abovementioned factors synergistically act, extremely improving the crushing power ofa crusher of the type permitting materials to stay in the crusher chamber for a short time.

When the materials to be treated move along the liner member 23 while being crushed by the hammer members 12 and liner member 23 and finally reach the grill or screen 29, the material which has been crushed to the predetermined size is withdrawn from the housing 7 through the openings 28 and pipe 26, and the material that is more difficult to crush, which has not passed through the openings 28, is withdrawn from the housing 7 through the pipe 24. Further, since the inlet 25 of the pipe 24 is located in the lower portion of the housing 7, the material which is most difficult to crush may be thrown directly into the inlet 25 as a result of its movement due to the force of gravity acting thereon in addition to the percussive forces imparted thereto by the hammer members 12. Therefore, even if such material that is difficult to crush is a light-weight one, e.g. a fibrous material, it can be easily withdrawn from the housing 7 through the pipe 24, so that it can be prevented as much as possible from staying in the housing for too long a time. In short, the materials to be treated fed into the housing 7 by the screw conveyer 16 are all withdrawn from the housing, without distinctionbetween the various crushed materials, and without permitting them to make one complete revolution within the housing 7.

Next, reference will be made to FIG. 3 which illustrates a modification of the housing 7 of the crusher shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and its internal construction.

The substantially cylindrical peripheral wall 102 of a housing 101 is arranged substantially coaxial with a substantially cylindrical liner member 103, and a space 105 extending over the entire circumference in the direction of rotation of hammer members 104 is defined between the peripheral wall 102 and the liner member 103. Openings 106 through which, of the materials to be treated, the one crushed to the predetermined size is passed, are defined by the liner member 103, said openings 106 being substantially equidistantly arranged over the entire length of the liner member 103 in the direction of rotation of the hammer member 104. Further, the inner surface of the liner member 103 has corrugations similar to those of the liner member 23 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The hammer members 104 are substantially equidistantly circumferentially arranged around the peripheral edge of a disk member 108 substantially vertically secured to a rotary shaft 107. Be tween the tips of the hammer members 104 and the liner member 103, there is a clearance similar to that for the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The layout of the outlet 109 of a screw conveyer and the layout of a pipe 110 for withdrawal of materials difficult to crush from the housing 101 are also substantially similar to those for the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Communicating with the lower opposite ends of said space are pipes 111 and 112, so thatthe crushed material passing through the openings 106 is withdrawn from the housing 101 through the space 105 and the pipe 111 and 112.

As shown in FIG. 3, with the openings 106 distributed over a wide range in the direction of rotation of the hammer members 104, particles of crushed material that have-been satisfactorily treated are successively taken out while insufficiently crushed material is effectively beaten, so that it can be further reduced in particle size.

Instead of the electric motor 13, pulleys l4 and transmission belts 15, any prime movers such as internal combustion engines and fluid-pressure motors and any operative connection mechanisms such as chain transmission mechanism and gear transmission mechanisms may be employed. Therefore, these will be generically referred to as drive means for rotating hammer members.

Instead of the screw conveyer 16 and hopper 17, any transport mechanisms usually utilized for transporting particles may be employed. Therefore, these will be generically referred to as means for feeding materials to be treated into the housing 7 or 101.

Instead of the pipes 27, 111 and 112 or the pipes 24 and 110, any transport mechanisms usually utilized for transporting particles may be employed. Therefore, the former will be referred to as first conduit means, and the latter as second conduit means.

What we claim is:

1. An apparatus for percussively crushing materials to be treated containing a difficultly crushable material, comprising a housing, a plurality of hammer members located within said housing, said hammer members being adapted to be rotated around a substantially horizontal axis and to impart percussive forces to said mixture by the rotation thereof, drive means for rotating said hammer members, means for feeding said materials into said housing, first conduit means whereby of said materials to be treated, the one crushed by the hammer members is withdrawn from the housing, second conduit means for withdrawing said difficultly crushable material from the housing, a liner member extending substantially along the path of rotation of the tips of the hammer members, said liner member having an uneven surface substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of said hammer members and opposed to said path of rotation, means defining openings communicating with the inlet of said first conduit means, said openings being adapted to permit the passage of only said crushed material therethrough, the outlet of said feeding means and the inlet of said second conduit means being located at a position corresponding to the lower end of said path of rotation, the inlet of said second conduit means being substantially adjacent to the rear side of the outlet of said feeding means as viewed in the direction of rotation of said hammer members, said liner member being opposed to substantially all said path of rotation except for the area where the inlet of said second conduit means and the means defining said openings are opposed to said path of rotation.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means defining openings is installed substantially adjacent to the rear side of the inlet of said second conduit means as viewed in the direction of rotation of said hammer members.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means defining openings is said liner member, such openings being substantially equidistantly arranged over the entire length of the linear member in the direction of rotation of said hammer members, and a space extending over the entire length in the direction of rotation of said hammer members is defined between said housing and said liner member, said space eommunieating with the inlet of said first conduit means.

4. In an apparatus capable of crushing materials which is substantially achieved during one complete revolution of the drive member carrying a hammer mill, the combination comprising a housing having a back wall and a front wall arranged to enclose an intermediate portion having plural dependent means defining openings therein, the said front wall including an outlet opening therein to emit said materials to said housing and said back wall. further including at least one exit means to permit said materials to be discharged therefrom, a liner within said housing, said liner extending at least from said outlet to said exit and including inwardly directed cutting teeth, a driven shaft extending into said housing through the back wall and including a terminus provided with a hammer mill arranged for cooperation with said cutting teeth, said front wall being perforated adjacent to but spaced from one said plural dependent openings and arranged to receive therethrough a charge of material and the other.

of said plural openings arranged to discharge the crushed material outwardly of the housing subsequent to the crushing operation being conducted. i

5. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the liner comprises an integral unit.

6. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4., wherein the liner comprises a plurality of elements, said elements being spaced apart equidistantly in a generally circular path in said housing.

7. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the liner includes an end portion which terminates adjacent to a grill arranged to receive the crushed material therethrough as it is discharged to the other of said plural openings.

8. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said front wall of said housing is associated with a conveyor means adapted to feed the material to be crushed into said housing.

9. In an apparatus as claimed in claim'8, wherein the conveyor meansfurther includes a discharge end portion which terminates between at least one pair of said plural dependent openings.

10. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the intermediate portion of said housing includes a circumferential interior wall and liner elements are spaced inwardly therefrom.

11. In an apparatus as claimed in claim10, wherein the termini of said liner elements are spaced from and the other of said pedestals is arranged to support said conveyor means and a drive means therefor.

rl l 

1. An apparatus for percussively crushing materials to be treated containing a difficultly crushable material, comprising a housing, a plurality of hammer members located within said housing, said hammer members being adapted to be rotated around a substantially horizontal axis and to impart percussive forces to said mixture by the rotation thereof, drive means for rotating said hammer members, means for feeding said materials into said housing, first conduit means whereby of said materials to be treated, the one crushed by the hammer members is withdrawn from the housing, second conduit means for withdrawing said difficultly crushable material from the housing, a liner member extending substantially along the path of rotation of the tips of the hammer members, said liner member having an uneven surface substantially parallel with the axis of rotation of said hammer members and opposed to said path of rotation, means defining openings communicating with the inlet of said first conduit means, said openings being adapted to permit the passage of only said crushed material therethrough, the outlet of said feeding means and the inlet of said second conduit means being located at a position corresponding to the lower end of said path of rotation, the inlet of said second conduit means being substantially adjacent to the rear side of the outlet of said feeding means as viewed in the direction of rotation of said hammer members, said liner member being opposed to substantially all said path of rotation except for the area where the inlet of said second conduit means and the means defining said openings are opposed to said path of rotation.
 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means defining openings is installed substantially adjacent to the rear side of the inlet of said second conduit means as viewed in the direction of rotation of said hammer members.
 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means defining openings is said liner member, such openings being substantially equidistantly arranged over the entire length of the linear member in the direction of rotation of said hammer members, and a space extending over the entire length in the direction of rotation of said hammer members is defined between said housing and said liner member, said space communicating with the inlet of said first conduit means.
 4. In an apparatus capable of crushing materials which is substantially achieved during one complete revolution of the drive member carrying a hammer mill, the combination comprising a housing having a back wall and a front wall arranged to enclose an intermediate portion having plural dependent means defining openings therein, the said front wall including an outlet opening therein to emit said materials to said housing and said back wall further including at least one exit means to permit said materials to be discharged therefrom, a liner within said housing, said liner extending at least from said outlet to said exit and including inwardly directed cutting teeth, a driven shaft extending into said housing through the back wall and including a terminus provided with a hammer mill arranged for cooperation with said cutting teeth, said front wall being perforated adjacent to but spaced from one said plural dependent openings and arranged to receive therethrough a charge of material and the other of said plural openings arranged to discharge thE crushed material outwardly of the housing subsequent to the crushing operation being conducted.
 5. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the liner comprises an integral unit.
 6. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the liner comprises a plurality of elements, said elements being spaced apart equidistantly in a generally circular path in said housing.
 7. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the liner includes an end portion which terminates adjacent to a grill arranged to receive the crushed material therethrough as it is discharged to the other of said plural openings.
 8. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said front wall of said housing is associated with a conveyor means adapted to feed the material to be crushed into said housing.
 9. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the conveyor means further includes a discharge end portion which terminates between at least one pair of said plural dependent openings.
 10. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the intermediate portion of said housing includes a circumferential interior wall and liner elements are spaced inwardly therefrom.
 11. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the termini of said liner elements are spaced from and straddle one of said plural dependent openings.
 12. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the front and back walls of said housing are supported on spaced pedestals.
 13. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein one of said pedestals is arranged to support said driven shaft and means including appurtenances required for rotation thereof.
 14. In an apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the other of said pedestals is arranged to support said conveyor means and a drive means therefor. 